It’s January, 2013. Hard to believe another year seemed to slip by so quickly. In 2012 I brewed 27 batches of beer, which is roughly 140 gallons of beer. Not bad, but It seemed like it was so much more, then again I didn’t brew anything in November and December (work got in the way). None-the-less it was a very productive brewing year for me. I finally have a single tier RIMMS system which has really made my brew days much better and efficient. One of my first batches on the system was one of my best beers of the year. It was an experimental IPA, a combination of Zythos and Citra hops. I felt this year was a real growth year for me, I started reading much more technical brewing material, really trying to understand the chemistry and biology behind the beers I was brewing. I also think it was the first time I was truly focused on what and where I wanted to go with my beer. The self insight has also been a frustrating aspect of the year as well, knowing what I want to do and seeing people around me doing has had its frustrations. But I just have to remember, “I have a plan and I need to stick with it” and all will be right. While 2012 was a great year, i’m really looking forward to 2013. I have lots of project I want to do since I learned how to weld last year. I’m finally starting to understand my water chemistry, so I hope to brew some even better beers! And finally, I need to make it through all my reading material in preparation for starting brewery school at the American Brewer Guild. What do you want to get out of 2013?
This is the next installment of monthly beer dinners created by Chef Mike Carrino, owner of Montclair’s Pig and Prince Gastrolounge and Peter Kennedy from Simply Beer. Chef Mike and Peter take their passions, Food and Beer, combining them into unique beer dinners that will not soon be forgotten. This dinner will be on Tuesday, January 15th at 6:30pm will feature Chef Mike’s award winning cuisine paired with a mix of specialty seasonal beers selected by Peter. Reservations will go quick at $65 a plate for this 5 course meal, call 973-233-1006 to make yours. Read the rest of this entry »
Two weeks ago we had our kick off Beer Dinner at the Pig and Prince in Montclair NJ. Each month I’ll be selecting 5 beers and Chef Mike Carrino will be creating 5 courses to go with the beer. Our first dinner was a fabulous success, the food and beer pairings were amazing. Here are some photo’s from December’s dinner. If you like what you see, the next dinner will be Jan 15th!
This is the second time around I’m trying to find 10 beers my wife will love, atleast like. We did this once before about a two years ago and a couple of weeks ago Dani said we should try it again. I think it is wonderful that she is willing to try and find something, especially since I’m such a big beer dork. About 10 days into this challenge we found our fist winner Flying Dog Atlantic Lager. This is a wonderfully flavorful 4.7% session lager. Actually one of my new favorites when I want to drink without catching a buzz.